DAJB 4.1

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Vocabulary



Inorganic: Can not grow from materials that were once part of a living thing.

crystal: Has flat sides that meets at edges or corners.

element: A substance with a single kind of atom.

compound: Two or more elements are combined so that the elements no longer have obvious property.

Mohs hardness scale: The scale that ranks ten minerals from softest to hardest used to identify minerals by hardness .

Streak: The color of it's dust when its scratched.

Luster: How a mineral reflects light on its surface.

cleavage: How the atoms in the crystal are arranged.

fracture: How a rock looks when it breaks.

fluorescence: Minerals that glow under ultraviolet light.

Outline



  • What is a mineral


    • Natural occurring -not made by people
    • Inorganic -never alive or part of something alive
    • Solid -particles are tightly packed
    • Crystal structure -sometimes visible, sometimes microscopic
    • Definite chemical composition -a specific mineral always contains the same elements in the same proportions

  • Identifying minerals

  • every sample of a particular mineral has the same characteristics

    • Hardness -harder minerals scratch softer minerals
    • Color -not all minerals are always the same color
    • Streak - the streak of a mineral is always the same even if its color isn't
    • Luster - for example: shiny, glassy, earthy, waxy, or pearly
    • Density- mass (weight) divided by volume
    • Crystal systems -broken into six groups: cubic, hexagonal, tetragonal, orthorhombic, monoclinic, triclinic
    • Cleavage and fracture - how does the mineral break?
    • Special properties - for example: fluorescence or magnetism